Double Cover
by CrazyChlojo
Summary: Maeve was just your average American girl. Then she found out she was a witch, her parents went crazy, she became a stow-away and ended up in England, where she agreed to spy for the Order, while pretending to spy for the bad guys at Hogwarts. She never l
1. The Mission Begins

**Chapter 1**: The Mission Begins

Maeve Phoenix took a deep breath as she studied her reflection in the mirror. She couldn't believe what she was about to do, what they had asked her to do. No, they hadn't asked her, they would never have asked her to do something this dangerous. Her normally brown, curly hair had become straight, longer, and jet black with streaks of red. Her eyes had also changed color; going from a pretty sea-green to a deep, dark brown, so that they were almost black, although the light of laughter hadn't been completely extinguished from them. She smiled coldly at the mirror. She certainly did look the part! This was good, because half the plan depended on her looks, which was a total fun thing for a girl! But this time, more than a date with a hot guy depended on how she looked. If anything went wrong, she could lose her life, or worse...the boy could lose his, and then everything would be lost. That's what Dumbledore had told her when she first volunteered. And repeated a zillion times a day ever since.

It was amazing that just two months ago she hadn't ever heard of any of this. That she hadn't known she could change what she looked like whenever she wanted. That the whole future of the wizarding world, and maybe even the Muggle world, depended on what she did now. She took another deep breath, checked the mirror one last time, and stepped out into the brightly lit kitchen of number 12 Grimwold place.

"So, how do I look? Evil and skanky enough?" Maeve asked, playing with her low-cut Goth top, which just showed from under her robes.

"This is no time for jokes, Missy! You seem to forget the grave danger of what you are about to do!" Mad Eye Moody growled.

"Chill, dude, I'm cool with it all. Don't worry, Mister Cloudy, you chose the right girl...witch...thing..." she said in her practiced disguised voice.

"Sides, the big bad evil guy doesn't even know I exist, right? No one in England, and very few outside it does, except for our happy little party!"

"Yes, but it is still one of the most dangerous undertakings yet, _Lux_," Dumbledore said, stressing the final word, her new name, "No matter how prepared you think you are, there will always be unseen surprises... normally bad ones," he added, seeing she was about to comment on surprises, "He is very powerful, never forget that."

"I know, I know, I'll be careful, I promise!" she said, "I don't see the big deal. Snape's doing the same thing, isn't he?"

"But he is and adult, and a fully qualified wizard! You are only a child, for Merlin's sake! Why don't you just go home, Maeve? Or enroll at Hogwarts? You would do well there," Mrs. Weasley said in that annoyingly motherly way she had.

Maeve's eyes flashed with anger at being called a child, and the idea of going home; after what they had done to her there! But it died quickly as she heard the caring worry in the motherly voice. Pain filled her eyes as she remembered her own mother, how she had loved her once...

"Molly, don't you remember when you were young? You too longed for adventure and had something to prove once. Or was that so long ago you have forgotten?" Dumbledore smiled at Molly and Maeve, "And you should get going, Maeve."

Maeve nodded and hugged the old man. She went around shaking hands, exchanging "Good-byes" and "Good Lucks," and even earned a tearful hug from Mrs. W. as she whispered "Take care." Maeve looked back at the warm little happy kitchen, looked back at safety, one last time, and stepped out into the dark of the night. And without a backward glance, she disappeared in the dark.

_**((Hi! This is your author speaking! Just so ya know, I'll put all Author's Notes in Comic Sans font and parentheses so you know its me! This is my first attempt at a fanfic, and I started it more because I was super bored because my computer was in the shop than anything, but after the first chapter I kind of got into it. My friends all loved it and said I should put it here, so here goes nothin'! Hope you like it! Hugs and Sloppy Kisses-CrazyChloe))**_


	2. The Snake's Lair

**Chapter 2:** The Snake's Lair

Maeve marched boldly up to the creepy old house on the hill. Evil and death seeped from the ground and hung in the air like a poisonous gas acres from the dark Riddle House. She paused for a moment when she reached the door, which looked like a good sneeze would knock it down, but she was sure it was guarded by dark magic. A flicker of fear, like a flame, licked her consciousness, freezing her heart and her bravery with it. But only for a minute. She was used to hiding things like fear and sadness and forgetting about them in a dark little dusty corner in her head. She banged on the door with her fist and waited.

She only waited a few minutes, but with her heart thundering away in her chest so much that it hurt, Maeve felt like she waited a couple millenniums. Finally, she heard shuffling footsteps and a "whoosh" as the spells guarding the door were released. The door creaked open, revealing a short, squat man with a large bald spot, a pointed nose, and watery little eyes. She fought the urge to laugh as he spoke in an odd squeaky voice. He was supposed it be intimidating, she supposed. Right...

"Who dares disturb the House of Riddle, current residence of..." he tried to growl, but it came out more in a kind of whimper.

Maeve couldn't stand it any longer, so she interrupted, in a calm and much more effective scornful voice, "Who dares? What, are we in the 16th century or something? What's it look like? I dare 'disturb the House of Riddle' apparently. And you shouldn't just go announcing who resides here. You don't know who I am; I might have wanted to harm the Master of the House. Luckily enough for you, my intentions are just the opposite."

The little man stared at her in shock for a moment, or maybe he was just trying to process what she had just said. Maeve couldn't tell. He eventually managed to stutter, "B...b...but who are you? What is your business?"

"My name is Lux; my business is with Lord Voldemort. That's all you'll get outta me, buddy. Are you going to make me stand here till sunrise?"

Footsteps sounded quietly from the dark behind the man. A cruel, cold voice joined the conversation. Lord Voldemort stood just out of sight in the shadows.

"You use my name carelessly. Do you not fear me, girl?"

"Why should I? Your little magic tricks can make the little kiddies like him," she gestured to the man at the door, "Wet their pants, but puh-leez! And if I may say so, your manners are lacking quite a lot, most evil Dark Lord."

"You are either incredibly stupid or incredibly brave. Which is it?"  
"Bit of both, I suppose." Maeve smiled charmingly and watched the little man stare fearfully to his left.

"I see. And what brings you to the doorstep of my home?" asked the Dark Lord, sounding amused.

"Your home?" she asked, with a lighter edge to her voice, keeping in stride with the evil guy's mood, "Don't you mean 'evil lair' or something fun like that? Sides, I came to see you, now that you mention it..."

"Here's my problem, girl. I cannot decide to kill you now and save the time, or to hear you out, for you amuse me," he mused.

"I'd recommend the second, good entertainment is so hard to find anymore. But I'm perfectly ok with the first option, please go right ahead. Really, there's not much to this life anyway," she said earnestly, keeping the fear out of her eyes and voice.

"I suppose I can always kill you later, as well...alright, Pettigrew lead her into the sitting room," said the Lord V.'s voice as it receded down the hall.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	3. In the House of Riddle

**Chapter 3:** In the House of Riddle

The little man, Pettigrew, she guessed he was the one who betrayed the family, led her away after the voice, but kept shooting little backward glances of a mixture of hatred and fear. When they turned into a small room to the left, Maeve got her first look at the infamous Lord Voldemort. He sat primly in a musty red armchair by the fire. His skin was as pale as parchment, his nostrils were mere slits, and his eyes were an eerie red. HE stared at her for a reaction to his appearance, but she acted like she hardly noticed and swept a finger along a side table.

"Bit dusty," she commented as she sat in an armchair across from him.

"Mm...Yes, I will make sure to have a Death Eater get right on that," he said sarcastically, "So, tell me, what do you want?"

"I want many things, few of which anyone can give me...but you could help me. And I can help you," she paused dramatically and noticed that she had the dreaded Lord V.'s total attention, just like she always did when she told stories, "I want to be come a Death Eater. Join the cause."

"You? Why? You are only a child, what use could we have with you, I should have just killed you to begin with..." Looking disappointed, he reached for his wand and stopped when she didn't react. "Don't you fear death?"

"What would be the point? We all die eventually, and it couldn't be any worse than life..." she faded out and looked resigned.

"Well, I suppose killing you can wait. So why do you want to join us?" he asked, putting his wand away. She'd hooked him.

Maeve pretended to study her shoes, looking anguished. This was her real magic, story telling. Even before she'd started magic school she'd been able to capture anyone with her stories, whether they were true or not. Of course she was also a powerful witch, but she'd caught the wizard whose name everyone feared to say without even reaching for her wand. She looked up, her dark eyes meeting his red ones for just a moment before she started her half true tale. The best lies always had just a seed of truth.

"Well, my name is Lux Occulaty. I'm from America; the Mid-West to be exact. I grew up in a small town. My family was one of the happiest you could ever see. My parents led normal Muggle lives; you wouldn't expect anything to be different about them. But when I was 10, they broke the news that would change my entire life. They were wizards. I was a witch, and a pretty powerful one at that, but they didn't know how powerful, no one did. I was invited to a bunch of different schools, but we finally Newtgalls, one of the best magic schools in America.

I did extraordinarily well there. Shocked all my teachers. Scored at least 150 in all my classes. I was the top witch in my class, and everyone said I was destined for great things, maybe even the first woman President of the United Sorcerers of America! But Life doesn't seem to like me very much, and when I got home from school last summer, the unthinkable happened. Word had gotten out that my family had magical ability. Old ideas gained ground quickly and it was decided that we had sold our souls to the devil or something. So a group of angry Muggles attacked late one night. They caught my parents totally off guard. I was out with some friends from grade school. When I got home, I found our house burning. I heard the angry voices, and saw them kill my family. My little brother hadn't even started magic school yet! So I ran. I had no choice; all I had were the clothes on my back and my wand. I snuck aboard a ship and magicked my way through all sorts of scrapes with crew members, and landed here. I've only ever had one thought ever since that night: revenge. But I can't do it now, it's too late. Most of those damn Muggles are rotting in a jail. So I caught word of and decided to board the band wagon."

There was silence when she finished her story. She couldn't tell what Voldemort was thinking. Her heart was thundering again as she wondered if he had bought it. She had caught him studying her figure a few times since she'd seen him, a typical man thing to do. If nothing else, that would go for her...Finally he spoke.

"Well, I suppose I could find something for you to do..." he faded out. Suddenly he snapped to the little man who was edging out of the room, "Pettigrew! Find her a room; you know which ones are available."

As she left the room, Maeve could have sworn that she saw the ghost of a smile, creaky and out of practice, but a ghost of a smile all the same, cross the evil nutcase's face before he shook his head and muttered something to himself.


	4. The Mary Poppins

**Chapter 4**: The Mary Poppins

_Maeve was back in her old home town again. She was only about 7, though. Strange...she was with her family and they were laughing! Laughing...she hadn't seen any of them laugh with her in so many years! They were out at the zoo, that's where they were! It was cold, and snowy, almost Christmas, and they were going to see Santa! Her mom and dad laughed with her as they danced through the flurries..._

_Suddenly she was 10, and she found out she could do things other kids couldn't. She knew stuff about her friends moments before they told her, things happened that she had already seen before, she could move things without touching them, and sometimes it was even like she randomly disappeared from situations that she didn't like. The other kids sensed something was funny about her and either ignored her or teased her. Her parents started to bicker, and her little brother began to bully her..._

Maeve jerked awake, breathing heavily and crying softly. She wiped her eyes and climbed out of the old canopied bed. Pulling back the moth-eaten curtains, she saw the sun was just rising. She shook her head violently to clear the dream from her head. It was a bad dream, that was all, nothing more than that, just a nightmare. She quickly pulled a clean outfit, similar to yesterday's, out of her magic backpack and got dressed. Sitting on the bed, Maeve studied her new room more closely.

This room smelled the least like death and sadness, that's why she had chosen it. There was a nice sized window that was fogged by cob webs and other things she didn't want to know what they were. It had a large walk in closet, and a big bed with a pretty blue and purple comforter and lots of pillows. The walls were sky-blue and unbearably bare. She'd have to fix that. And she'd have to clean out under the bed, she had a feeling there was something frightening under there.

She got up and decided to go find the kitchen. Slipping quietly out into the hall, Maeve let her eyes adjust to the dark. She listened for a moment, and heard raised voices at the other end of the hall. She followed the sound to the door.

"She's just a girl, she should be easy enough, and she's smart!" said a voice she recognized as Voldemort's.

"But, Master! Please, I could do so much more help doing what we used to, torturing, killing, that's my specialty! Not babysitting some little kid..." whined a female voice.

"I am no longer asking you, Bellatrix, I'm ordering you! Do this, or else...I was exceptionally kind to you after you lost me the prophecy, so consider this your punishment. You know I could always just go back to what I normally do..." he sounded pleased at something.

"Yes Master, I'll show the girl the ropes," said the female voice, sounding defeated and resentful of it.

Footsteps stomped toward the door and Maeve had just enough time to stumble backwards before the door flew open and an angry looking young woman stormed out.

"So, you must be my new 'charge'," she said, and added sarcastically, "Great, I'm a bloody Mary Poppins!"

"My name's Lux..." she said, trying to be friendly. She waited a moment and added, "Normally that's when you introduce yourself, or shall I just call you the bitch down the hall?"

The woman glared at her and looked like she wanted to kill her. "You are so incredibly lucky the Dark Lord seems to favor you, or I would have killed you already..."

The woman sulked for a moment. Maeve tried to smile at her.

"I was just kidding, you know, I'm sorry, Miss. You know, whether we like it or not, we're kind of stuck together, so we might as well make the best of it, hm?" Maeve said perkily.

"Oh, alright! My name is Bellatrix. Happy now? Come on, let's go get you something to eat, then we get to start teaching you how to be a proper Death Eater." Bellatrix started down the steps.

"Oh, so there's a proper was to kill, mangle, and torture?"

"You bet." She grinned horribly.


	5. Mission Impossible

**_((Hey, it's your author again! This is my least favorite chapter, I think, I played around with it, and it's still just not right! If you have any suggestions(or a vote of confidence for it, my friends at school are the reason I didn't scrap it entirely, and I you kind of need it…to show how Maeve reacts to Lord V. and the others…) So anyway, your help on this chapter would be GREATLY appreciated! Also, if anyone has a better idea for a title (I hate titles, always the worst part! I cant have a good title til I'm done, but that might not be for a while) I'd love for title ideas! Thanks, hope you like it!))_**

**Chapter 5**: Mission Impossible

Some of the older Death Eaters scoffed at the idea of a 15 year old witch becoming one of them, but she quickly showed them that she was not someone to piss off. After turning a couple into literal examples of dick-heads and asses, she not only earned a reputation for having a big, and only slightly sick, sense of humor, but she had also been accepted by almost everyone. She did things with her wand that none of them had seen before, and whispers were spread about her being the one to continue the mission someday. All too soon she was ready to become a full-fledged Death Eater.

During the weeks of initiation, she kept in touch with Dumbledore once a week, every Wed. night, the same time, the same way. So Dumbledore was surprised to find her pacing around his office late one night when he came back from the kitchen with a late night snack. She was not in disguise at all. Her brown curls were arranged haphazard sly around her head, and her blue-green eyes told him there was a problem.

"What's wrong?" he asked, immediately alarmed.

"They want to initiate me!" she cried.

"Wasn't that part of the plan?" he asked, sitting down with his cookies and milk.

"But they are going to REALLY initiate me, with the Dark Mark!"

"Oh, that's all?"

"That's all?! I don't want that ugly thing on me FOREVER, and something tells me there is no temporary tattoo that comes off with a little alcohol! And he'll be able to track it, won't he? So he can some after me…" her normal sense of cool had been lost a while ago, it seemed.

"Yes, but there is a loop hole. When you change your appearance, you also change the way you act, and you become, in a sense, Lux, a totally different person. The placing of the Dark Mark will only affect you as Lux. It is a tricky spell, and it will not affect you when you are yourself or in any other disguises," Dumbledore said, calm as always.

"So go through with it then?"

"Go through with it."

Voldemort himself presented Lux with her Death Eater robes and mask the very next night, at midnight, of course. He murmured the curse that burned the burned the Dark Mark into Lux's skin forever. The pain was like a wild fire, shooting up her arm, but she bit it back. This pleased Voldemort, most of the others had screamed. Everything about her pleased him. From the way she hummed about the old mansion, cleaning it up a bit and making it livable, to the way she poked a stick at him by calling him names and disrespecting him. While he would have killed any other Death Eater for doing half of what she did, something about this dark little beauty and her bold ways made him keep her. She certainly intrigued him. And she knew it. That was part of the plan, to turn on the charm, for she was somehow distantly related to the veelas, and have him let her into his inner circle, so she could pass on information. But unfortunately, Maeve had no idea how deeply she had charmed Lord V.

"You know the others are talking, Lux." Bella said, cornering her in the little garden out back one cloudy day.

"About what?" she asked innocently.

"Oh, don't you dare play innocent with me. You would have to be blind not to notice the way he looks at you, the way he talks about you!" Bella hissed, "He's attracted to you! And you have done nothing to discourage it!"

"No…he's not…he can't be…If he is, it's his own fault! I didn't do anything to encourage it, either, I just thought he liked me, thought I was funny…"

"Then you aren't as clever as you, or he, thinks you are. You should have known the Dark Lord doesn't keep friends. And it's very rare that he keeps a lover. Why do you think you get away with everything you do? Announcing him when he enters a room, calling him Lord V, or Voldie when you are adventurous. All the millions of things you do that would normally drive him nuts! You are crazy, not to fear him. And that attracts him. This is a dangerous position, Lux, very, very dangerous. He doesn't know what to do with you. He had a girl once, but she tried to stop him one night…foolish woman. The longer you sit around here, the more he notices you, your beauty, and your laugh, just you! And what if he tries something? What are you going to say? No? You couldn't say no, he'd kill you..."

"Stop, please, Bella, stop it! I get it, alright, just, leave me al…" Maeve was cut off in the middle of her sentence by a sharp, familiar voice.

"Is everything alright, ladies?" said Lord V.

"Everything is fine, Master, just talking with young Lux!" said Bella nervously.

"What's up, Lord V? What brings you into our lovely little patch of green?"

"Actually, I was looking for you. I need to talk with you, Lux, come." He turned and walked back to the house, which didn't look as dank and musty as it did before Maeve showed up. She had dusted and scrubbed for days, and it still smelled a little musty.

Maeve caught a glimmer of fear on Bella's face before she hurried off after Lord V. He walked into the parlor, where she had first met him.

"Lux, we need to find a job for you. Yes, it's lovely to have you around here," He brushed a finger along a now dustless side table, "Adding your woman's touch to the place. But now that you're done with training and such, I have a mission. I want you to go to Hogwarts."

"Hogwarts?!" she asked, trying to stay calm.

"Yes, Hogwarts. I want you to keep an eye on things there, mainly Potter and his friends. Do you accept?"

Maeve knew it wasn't a question. The way he fingered his wand gave her no choice but to nod.

"Good! Term starts September 1st. Your supplies are in your room. You will pretend to be an American exchange student. That's all, I suggest you go get packed," Voldemort smiled at her. He obviously thought this was some honor. Maeve had the most awful feeling it was all going to back fire for her. How was she supposed to spy for the good side and for the bad guys?!


	6. Decisions, Decisions

**Chapter 6: **Decisions, decisions

Dumbledore found Maeve pacing his office again, out of disguise, but she seemed more in control than last time.

"Would you like a cookie? They're your favorite, chocolate chip…" he said, his blue eyes twinkling.

Maeve took a cookie from his plate and nibbled on it.

"He wants me to attend Hogwarts."

"Oh? And why is this a problem?" he asked, soaking a cookie in milk.

"Because he wants me to spy for him…on the boy…and you," she said.

"I see, well, we can make things up, of course, until he catches on…"

"At which time he will come after me and I'll join the number he has murdered,"

"I thought you didn't fear death, that's what you said when you took the job."

"Well, I didn't have anything important to do!"

"Then accept, he will still communicate with you what his plans are, won't he?"  
"I suppose if I asked, yes, he would..."

"Good, it's settled then!" he said, offering her the plate of cookies.

"No, its not, I have to get into Gryffindor…I kinda said I could trick the Hat thing…" she said, looking ashamed.

"Well, that is a small problem, nothing we can't handle, though." Said the old man, reaching for the old hat behind his desk.

He handed it to her, gesturing that she should put it on. She did, awkwardly, and everything went black.

_So…Maeve Phoenix! I must say, this is the first American I've sorted in a long time… and perhaps the hardest to sort since Mr. Potter. _

"_Just get on with it already!" _she thought.

_Bit anxious are we? Well you are cunning, and deceitful…_

_I am not deceitful! _She thought with even more force.

_Temper, temper. If you are not deceitful, than why are you doing what you are? That's what I thought._ The damn thing had the nerve to sound proud of itself when she didn't reply._ You are brave, as well, obviously, and loyal, and smart…you would do well in any of the houses…_

"_This is kind of important, Mr. Hat, could you decide quickly?" she thought angrily_

_This can't be rushed, Miss Phoenix. But since you are in such a hurry, and you apparently don't like Slytherans after your experience with them…_"GRYFFINDOR!" he decided aloud.

"Thanks," Maeve muttered, ripping the hat off her head and handing it back to a smiling Dumbledore before vanishing back to the Riddle House.

Maeve spent the next few weeks until term preparing. She was fitted for her robes, packed up her backpack and said her good byes. She was surprised she was actually sad to leave some of these people. Very few of them were actually purely evil. She sensed a little goodness in all of them, except Malfoy and some of his crew, and of course the Lord V. himself. Even Bella had a little bit of hope for her. But by a little, she meant microscopic. It was just barely surviving. Some of them had suffered painful pasts, like her own. Others had fallen into bad luck and had no choice. Still others had chosen, not quite knowing what they were getting into. Everyone, again, except Malfoy and his crew, was sad to see her go. Malfoy was practically dancing with joy, seeing as she had humiliated him a couple times in front of his posse. Finally, after waiting weeks, September 1st rolled around and Maeve left the Riddle House and made her way into the REAL English wizarding world.


	7. Head over Heels

**Chapter 7**: Head over Heels

Maeve was lost. She had gone to look for Platform 9 ¾ like the ticket instructed, but it wasn't there. Just the barrier between platform 9 and 10. _There's gotta be a trick, _she thought. Absentmindedly, she slung off her backpack, gripped it by one handle and leaned against the barrier to think. She went tumbling, head over heals, backwards through the barrier. When she cleared her now curly brown hair (which she had claimed to Lord V. she dyed, and that her eyes were colored contacts, so he didn't catch on to her secret) out of her blue-green laughing eyes and blushed bright red as she looked up at a cute boy.

"Erm…are you ok?" he asked, offering her his hand to get up.

"Yeah, fine, thanks…" she said dusting herself off.

The boy had flaming red hair and a mess of freckles. Two taller boys, twins, who looked very much like the first boy, came up laughing to join them.

"Now THAT was graceful! Never been through the barrier before?" laughed one.

"I think that's the best entrance I've ever seen!" exclaimed the other.

"Fred, George, bugger off, don't be such assholes. Just because…" the boy stopped suddenly and stared at Maeve. She was laughing.

"Graceful? How did you know? I won the gracefullest award in grade school!" She flashed her grin at them as she picked up her backpack. "I'm Maeve, who're you all?"

The boy recovered from his shock quickly enough to reply, "I'm Ron Weasley, these are my brother's Fred and George. Erm…what year are you? You don't look like a 1st year…"

"Oh, that's because I'm not! God, no, wouldn't be a 1st year again if the entire army of piratical hitmen were after me! I'm a 5th year! An American exchange student, the first and only!" she said.

Ron nodded and then he waved his arms frantically and hollered, "Oy! Harry, Hermione! Over here!"

Two more kids joined the group. A girl with bushy brown hair and pretty brown eyes and a boy with a mess of black hair, glasses, sharp green eyes…and a lightning bolt scare. This was him; this was the boy she had risked everything to save! She fought to keep her jaw from dropping.

"Hey guys…this is Maeve, she's a year younger than us, from America. Maeve, this is Harry and Hermione."

"Nice to meet you both. You're 6th years, then? That's cool…so you can show me the ropes?" she laughed.

"Yeah, sure…hey, do you want to sit with us on the train?" asked Harry.

"Um…yeah, sure, if you don't mind, I don't want to intrude or anything, you probably haven't seen each other all summer…" she faded off, looking nervous.

"No, of course we don't mind! We could tell you about the school, and you can tell us where you come from…I've never been to America!" said the girl, Hermione.

And so she walked off with them to board the train. It felt good not to have to put on such a big act, she could at least be herself, for now anyways.


	8. Like Father Like Son

**Chapter 8:** Meeting Malfoy

She learned a lot about Hogwarts during the trip. The stairs liked to move, some of the doors would lock themselves at random, and others liked to only _pretend_ to be doors. The same with some of the stairs, they weren't there at all! And the school Poltergeist, Peeves, liked to cause trouble, but that was expected; they ALL liked to cause trouble. She learned which classes were harder, and what teachers were nice, and which were kind of frightening.

In return she had to tell them about Newtgalls, and America. About how it was almost exactly like the Muggle schools, they even learned a little of Muggle things, like biology and history, but they were elective. But it was also quite unique; how many Muggle schools had books flying around and paper airplanes that actually reached their destinations…in classrooms on other floors? Talking about it did make her miss her old life a little bit. But just a little bit. At noon the snack trolley lady stopped by.

"And what would you like, dear?" the plump lady asked, after Harry, Hermione, and Ron had been served.

She stared at the cart in awe. There weren't any of the candies she recognized, no popping Gobstobbers, that not only changed color, but had your mouth changing colors for hours afterward, and no SmartTarts, each little candy let you answer a question, any question, no matter how hard it was.

"Um…bit of everything, please!" she decided.

Harry laughed as he watched Maeve with her hoard.

"What's so funny?" she asked, with her mouth full of a Cauldron cake, so it sounded more like, "Wuf fo fummy?"

"Your manners rival Ron's," Hermione stated, with just a tiny bit of scorn in her voice.

"Aw, don't mind Hermione, she's just jealous…I was just thinking about my first time with all that candy…" Harry grinned at her.

There was a banging on the door and it jerked open.

"Well, well, well. Potter's got himself a new girlfriend. Who's this?" asked a wormy little boy with pale hair, followed by two brutes, who looked as dumb as they looked big.

Maeve disliked the three of them immediately. There was something slimy about the first one, he was apparently the leader, the so called "brains", but brains apparently ran thin in the little group. Harry and Ron jumped up.

"Get out, Malfoy!" Harry snarled.

"No, I want to meet your new friend…" The two brutes stepped forward, pounding their fists on their hands menacingly. Maeve took a deep breath and let "Lux" take her over mentally.

"Its cool, you two, I don't mind introducing myself to the whiney little creep…even if he is a rude little ass," she said before turning to the boy, putting on all airs of politeness. "Excuse me; I don't believe I've had the _pleasure_ of meeting you and your…_little_…friends."

The boy scowled at her and raised his wand. "Whiney little creep? Oh, I think you'll…"

Maeve was too quick from him, a skill learned at the Riddle House. A quick "SNAP" and instead of the boy there was a mule, or an ass, as she liked to call them.

"…regret that? Don't think so. I must say, you make a much cuter ass than you do a person…I'm Maeve, by the way, lovely to meet you," she grinned and eyed the boys on either side of him, who had stepped back and were looking at her with fright. "You might want to lead him away now, don't want him eating the seats in here…"

After closing the compartment door, she turned back to her new friends, who were all staring at her with their mouths open. Harry and Ron looked like they had found their hero; Hermione looked a mix of shock and horror.

"That…that was bloody brilliant!" Ron gasped.

"No, it was incredibly stupid! You haven't even STARTED school yet, and you're going to be expelled! He'll tell his father, who will raise problems at the school…"

"Chill, chica, its no big deal. He won't remember anyway. He'll be back to his normal hideous self in five minutes, and he'll think it was some kind of weird vision or something, and something tells me his toadies are too stupid to tell his normal self from the donkey anyway, so problem solved!" she grinned proudly, "So who was that?"

"That was Draco Malfoy…" Harry started.

"Malfoy? THAT was Malfoy?!" she cried.

"How do you know Malfoy?" Hermione asked.

Oh crap, she forgot. "Oh, yeah, I…uh…read about him in the Daily Prophet, his dad's one of You-Know-Who's follower, isn't he?"

"Yeah, and the two big guys were Crabbe and Goyle, they're fathers are Death Eaters, too," Ron said in a hushed voice.

So she finally got to meet the sons of the men she had "worked" with for months. She could definitely see the resemblance.

"Oh! Maeve, look out the window! Welcome to Hogsmede station!" Harry exclaimed, grinning at looks of mixed excitement and nervousness flickered across her face.

This was it, she was here.


	9. SortingAgain

**Chapter 9: **Being Sorted…Again

Walking outside with the throng of people, Maeve quickly got separated from her new friends.

"Harry? Hermione? Ron? Where'd you all go?" she called.

_Great, now what? _She thought. As if it wasn't bad enough that she couldn't find her way out of a paper bag (it wasn't an exaggeration; she had even gotten lost in an airport bathroom) she had no idea where she was supposed to go anyway. She hadn't noticed she had been walking until she ran right into the biggest, wildest looking man she'd ever seen. She thought he was awesome!

"Firs' years! Oer ere! Firs' ye…" the man cut off his shouting and looked down with kind black eyes.

"Um, sorry, sir wasn't paying attention…" she faded off and looked up at him.

"Don't believe I know you, what's yer name?" he asked, smiling down.

"Maeve…what's yours?"

"Maeve…Maeve…that name sounds familiar…OH! I was sposed to get you special, yer a fifth year, right?"

"Yeah…um, who are you?" she asked.

"Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of the Grounds and Keys. It's a pleasure," he said with a wink before turning back and calling for the first years again.

Maeve joined the crowd of first years as they headed down to a large lake with a number of little jolly boats sitting on the shore. She climbed into one with a bunch of little kiddies and was shocked as the boats started off with a jerk. Some of the little ones screamed. The ones in her boat stared at her, they new she wasn't one of them. She could see others whispering and looking in her direction. Great, bunch of curious midgets, just what she needed.

"Now just as we go round this bend, you'll get yer firs' view of ogwarts!" Hagrid called.

All the students gasped. On top of a monster face of rock stood the COOLEST castle Maeve had ever seen. It stood proud and tall, its lights glowing welcomingly. Newtgalls had NOTHING on this place!

All the students spent the rest of the trip in nervous silence.

"DUCK!" cried Hagrid as the boats entered a sort of cave.

The groups reached an underground harbor. They followed Hagrid up a set of stone steps. Hagrid banged a fist on the door. It creaked open, revealing a tall, strict looking woman with her brown-and-quickly-graying-hair pulled tightly back in a bun. Maeve recognized her immediately from the Order as Professor McGonagall.

"All, right, I'll take them, Hagrid, hurry and get back to the feast now," she said in a voice that matched her looks perfectly.

As she walked past, Hagrid patted Maeve on the shoulder, gave her another wink and whispered happily, "Don't look so nervous, you'll do fine!"

Maeve stared, along with the midgets, with her mouth gaping. The hall was HUGE! Gi-normous! She shuffled after the professor along with everyone else. The sound of voices came from a doorway off to the right. _The rest of the school,_ Maeve guessed. She expected to be led there, but instead they ended up in a small, empty room. When they were all in, Professor McGonagall started to speak.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. The banquet will begin shortly, at which time you will enter the Great Hall. Before you sit, you will be sorted into your houses. Whether you are in Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw, your house will serve as a family. Triumphs will earn you points, while rule-breaking…"

Maeve kind of zoned out at this point. Professor McG. gave the speech like it was well practiced, like she'd said the same thing for too many years to count. Maeve wondered why Dumbledore had her do this, she already knew she would be in Gryffindor. It was probably so she would blend in more. Suddenly, whispers broke out around the room. When Maeve looked around, Professor McG. had left the room. One of the first year midgets pointed at her.

"You don't look like a first year!" he exclaimed, sounding proud of himself to have deduced this.

A girl next to him elbowed him and whispered, loud enough for the room to hear, "Be nice! She might be really stupid and got held back! It's not her fault!"

"What ever gave you the idea I'm not a first year?" Maeve retorted, with just a hint of sarcasm, before looking at the girl with a grin, "And sadly, little midget, I'm not stupid, although you'd have some trouble convincing my family that…I'm a fifth year, actually."

"You talk funny," said another first year.

"What is this, an interrogation? My, my, I feel like I'm at Customs of something!" she grinned at their puzzled expressions (well, the ones from Muggle families knew what she was talking about, anyway), she did love kids, "I'm an American exchange student, for your information."

Before they could question her any farther, Professor McG. entered the room again. It was time for the sorting.

Maeve hopped from one foot to the other as she waited nervously with the others. The little midgets slowly trickled away.

_This is a mistake! _She thought _What was I thinking?! They'll fry me…that dumb old hat'll roast me over a fire and tell the world what I'm about…shoulda been nicer to the stupid thing!_

"Maeve Phoenix!" Professor McG. called out.

Maeve gave a little jump and looked around as some of the older students chuckled. She was the last one to be sorted. She made her way to the little stool and somehow managed to sit without her shaking knees knocking her or anything else over.

_You again? _Asked the hat, sounding amused, _I thought I already sorted you._

_No, that was my twin sister, _she thought with venom _Get on with it, would you? We already know I'm in Gryffindor!_

_Still have that temper, I see. I thought you LIKED our little chats. No? Alright. _GRYFFINDOR!" it yelled out to the crowd.

Maeve made her way over the cheering table, grinning. She took the seat next to Harry that he had saved for her. All three of her friends from the train were grinning at her.


	10. Making Announcements, Friends, and Food

**Chapter 10:** Making Announcements, Friends, and Food

Silence fell over the room after Maeve took her seat. All eyes were on the teacher's table at the front of the room. Professor Dumbledore stood up, smiled, and spread his arms, like he wanted to engulf the room in a hug.

"Welcome back! As always, I have a few start-of-term announcements before we can get to the pleasurable business of eating! We have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Please welcome Nymphadora Tonks."

Maeve's jaw dropped as the woman she recognized as Tonks stood up. She noticed Hermione watching her and quickly hid her surprise.

"Also on the note of welcoming, we have a new fifth year, who was placed into Gryffindor house tonight. Maeve, would you stand up, please? Maeve Phoenix is from America, and not quite used to how we do things here. I'm counting on all of you to help her find her way about the school."

Maeve did as she was asked, blushing furiously and thinking about killing the old man all the while. As soon as he finished the "l" in "school", she sat down so fast her chair almost tipped over. As he continued on about rules, she let her mind wander. She never did pay much attention to rules. She noticed interested eyes flicker toward her from around the room throughout the rest of the lecture. Finally he came to the end.

"With business over, let the feast begin!"

And with that, the old man sat down and the golden platters filled with the most delicious food Maeve had ever seen.

"Well, congratulations, Maeve! You've joined the best of the houses…" Harry said, grinning.

"Quidditch-wise, anyway," Ron added and he and Harry laughed.

"Oh, Quidditch is alright, but its nothing to Broom-Tackle! That's a REAL sport!" she said enthusiastically.

"Well, I suppose, if you like your teams to fall and die before they win…" Ron started.

"It gets out those we don't want in society," she laughed at Hermione's startled look and added, "Besides, no one has died in, like, centuries! Its perfectly safe, there some kinda spell on the field that acts like a net and'll catch anyone who is bad enough to fall!"

"Ow! Ginny, what was that for? Oh! Well, sorry, thought you'd do it yourself…" Ron grumbled, "Hey, Maeve, this is my sister, Ginny, she'll be in your classes, too."

"Hi!" Maeve grinned warmly. "Nice to meet you!"

"Yeah…you too…mind if I sit here?" she asked shyly, gesturing to the empty chair next to her, "I'm a little late, I had to…say hi to someone."

Maeve laughed at the way she blushed. "I see…and was it a male someone?"

Ginny Weasley turned as red as her hair and Maeve grinned. In a moment they were discussing girly things, like hair and cute boys. Maeve had the scoop on all the guys at Hogwarts within 20 minutes.

Soon she was talking with kids of all different ages. Ginny introduced her to all the Gryffindor fifth years, who were enthusiastic about having the first American exchange student in Hogwarts history in their house. All too soon, the feast was over.

"Ron! Come on, we have to go help the first years!' Hermione hissed.

"Oh…but what about Maeve? You don't want to just leave her here, do you? She doesn't know where she's going!" he said defensively.

"I'll help her, you two go on, we'll meet you in the Common Room," Harry said.

Maeve followed Harry out into the enterance hallway, laughing at the sulky look Ron gave them as he followed Hermione to help the midgets. They went up the main staircase, and Maeve looked around in awe.

"Its amazing here!"

"Yeah, I've loved it here ever since I first got off the train! Did you see the ceiling in the Great Hall?" Harry asked with a smile.

"The sky, you mean? It's beautiful!" she said.

"Hermione says it's a charm…"  
"Well, if Hermione says it, it must be true!" she grinned, "She's super smart, isn't she?"

"Super smart? That's one way to put it…oh, here we are!" Harry said, as they stopped by a line of people waiting to get inside. Ron and Hermione were at the head of the group.

"Um, right, midgets, listen up!" Ron called.

"They aren't midgets, Ron!" Hermione scolded before calling to the crowd, "This is the Common Room. The password is Wildsmith. Remember that, or you'll be stuck out here until someone comes."

"Come on, you'll wanna see the Fat Lady before she opens," Harry said, shoving through the crowd.

Maeve followed closely after until she could see the portrait of a fat woman in pink, who looked rather grumpy at being disturbed.

"Are you going to stand here all night?" she asked testily.

"Alright, alright, you heard us say it, will you let us in?" Ron asked angrily.

"You didn't say it to me! If I opened for anyone who walked by and mentioned the password in a conversation…"

"Oh alright! Wildsmith!" Ron growled. "Damn old bag!"

Maeve and Harry followed the flow of the other Gryffindors as they made their way into a cozy room with a large fire place and a number of squishy armchairs.

"See you in the morning!" Harry waved as he disappeared up the stairs, leaving Maeve unsure of where to go.

"Maeve! Over here!" a familiar voice called.

Maeve looked up to see Ginny grinning and hurrying toward her.

"Guess what! You're rooming with me! Come on!" said the red-head.

The girls went up a staircase to the right and ended up in a cute little room with large four-poster beds. Maeve's backpack was sitting on one of them. She dug out her P.J.'s and was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.


	11. Nightmare Before School

**Chapter 11: **The Nightmare

_Maeve was buried under a pile of laundry. Not like that was anything new. She smiled bitterly. This is what her life had come down to, from star student and favorite child to mountains of laundry and mountains of homework, and only a mole hill of time to do it all in. Her Muggle friends from grade school had long ago given up trying to do things with her, and weren't even emailing her anymore. She sighed as she stared at the black screen of the TV. She wondered for a moment what her brother Jason was doing and immediately regretted it. He was always out with his friends, and her parents weren't much better. This couldn't last, she was going crazy, cramped up in the house. Well, only a few more weeks, school would start soon!_

_The night before Newtgalls started. Maeve's bags had been packed for months. She headed down stairs in the best mood she'd been in since she LEFT school. Her parents were talking in whispers and looked up when she walked in. Odd…normally they didn't really notice her unless she didn't do something right…_

"_Maeve! Erm…sweetheart!" the word sounded awkward on her mother's lips._

"_Darling, we need to talk to you about something," her dad said, giving her mom a look that said "Are you sure about this?"_

"_Um, sure, what's up?" she asked nervously, something was wrong._

"_Sit down, kiddo," her dad said. He was always nice to her, if it weren't for the fact he never stood up to her bullying mother, she might think he actually cared a little bit._

"_Maeve, its about your school…" he started._

"_Oh, what about it? Is it gunna start late? Its ok if it is, maybe I could meet up with Gretchy or Stace or someone." She said, perkily._

"_You're not going back!" he mother declared harshly._

_It took a minute for the words to register. And when they did, her smile slid off her like a water balloon down a Slip N' Slide. _

"_W…w…what do you mean? You're joking, right?" _

"_Of course we're not joking! Its wrong, this school! You're so smart, why waste it learning magic? We've decided you'll start high school this year, like a normal girl!" the woman spat._

"_But…you can't! I'm a witch! You know I couldn't ever…never…not after everything…" her mother's face was hard and pitiless. Her dad at least looked sorry that he was tearing his daughter's life to ribbons._

"_Your brother's not going to that school," she said it like it was poison, or something nasty tasting, "and he's doing just fine!"_

_That was it. Her little brother was jealous he didn't have the talent, that their parents hadn't had any magic left for him. He'd been denied at Newtgalls…at all the magic schools in the States, and even some outside it. She finally exploded. _

"_HOW CAN YOU?! HOW DARE YOU?! You know…you know how awful it was…what I went through. I WONT LET YOU!" she yelled, standing up so fast her chair fell over with a clatter in the large kitchen. _

"_I think you won't have much of a choice, you live under our roof," she said in a calm voice, like she was discussing the weather._

_Maeve drew her wand, breathing heavily. "Just try me, bitch! I won't stay around here to do your bidding anymore! I'm done, you hear?!" she screamed. _

_She started to mutter a curse, a curse that would free her forever, but her mother was faster. There was a blinding pain. Someone yelled, it sounded like her dad, but why would he bother now? It was too late…she didn't care if it was a Forbidden Curse as she fell into darkness. Her life had already ended. Not letting her go back was as good as muttering those two words that would kill anyone. She slipped into a fitful darkness._


End file.
